Former Sony senior executive steps in to accelerate the Tokyo-based AI venture towards the next phase of growth
Ascent Robotics Board of Directors announces the appointment of Ken Kutaragi as Chief Executive Officer – effective August 26, 2020. Mr. Kutaragi, globally acknowledged as the visionary behind the creation of Sony’s PlayStation, will be taking the leadership reigns from Masayuki Ishizaki, who co-founded Ascent Robotics and has been CEO since 2017. Mr. Ishizaki remains on the Ascent Robotics board and has transitioned to the role of COO on the executive team.
Ken Kutaragi, well known as the ” Father ofPlayStation,” was the former chairman and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment) – the computer game division of Sony, retiring in 2007. Mr. Kutaragi was also COO, Executive Vice President and Board Director at Sony Corporation, from where he retired in 2005. Over the past decade, Mr. Kutaragi has been engaged in the venture community, supporting entrepreneurs and fellow pioneers who share his passion for breakthrough innovation in how machines and humans engage and interact.
Mr. Kutaragi first encountered Ascent Robotics in 2017 through his support of innovative technology start-ups, and joined Ascent’s Board of Directors in 2018. As Ascent Robotics continues to advance their solutions to deliver machine autonomy across industrial robotics, mobility and more, Mr. Kutaragi’s transition into an executive and operational role will further accelerate Ascent’s momentum within the fast-growing ecosystem. “I am thrilled to be joining Ascent at this critical period of commercial application and development”, says Mr. Kutaragi, “I look forward to driving Ascent to emerge as one of the leading pioneers in next-generation AI and true machine autonomy.”.